Love in the workplace:
Love
has many meanings, nuances, and ramifications. When I first went into
management work in 1982, I was by necessity thinking about many things in the
new adventure. Of course there were all the details that needed to be attended
to, the best way to have things run effectively and efficiently, the personnel
decisions and issues that arose, and also overall policies and procedures. Being
open to the spiritual in Life, I also asked myself how do I translate and
inject the energy of Love into the business environment. I concluded that other
words were more conducive to the workplace and tended to translate “Love” into “Care”…whether
it was caring for the kind of work we were doing… or taking care of customers…
or working together in an atmosphere of care and respect for others.
I
introduced teamwork and group meetings as a way to help empower each person…
give each person a say. And at times people were able to help with issues that
were happening in other areas. Of course there was some resistance to group
involvement since everyone was used to being told what to do from the top down.
When I eventually was fired from this position due to being too “progressive”
and having a different philosophy than the owner, these empowerment experiments
were cited as a reason… I’m glad I did what I did, even if it was not
appreciated... it seemed the right thing to do. And it didn’t stop me from
getting other jobs after that.
Caring
in the workplace can go a long way from how we treat each other to how we
approach our tasks. This seems a practical form of love that respects others
and works toward the common good. Of course top down dictatorships and other hierarchical
systems are somewhat easier in the short run, but usually must use some form of
fear factor as a motivator… “You do as I say or else”… either stated or implied…
It employs a “power-over” model rather an “empower-with” approach.
So how do
you allow Love’s present energy to flow in your place of work?
What
does respecting others mean in practical terms?
What
percentage of talking to listening are we practicing?
What
others actions and attitudes help to bring “Love “ to everyday situations?
If love is important to you, how do you choose to be it and manifest it?
John Hutchinson - October 1, 2014
